


The Herondale Twins

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), Vampire Academy (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Suburban Setting, Childhood Sweethearts, Christian & Jace are Twins, Hurt/Comfort, Imogen Herondale is a Good Grandmother, Luke Garroway is a Good Dad, M/M, Multi, Past Abuse, Polyamory, Slash, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-15 13:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15414237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: When Stephen and Céline Herondale died, their twin-sons went into foster-care, unbeknownst to anyone.Christian grew up with the Ozeras, Jace grew up with Michael Wayland.At age ten, they are reunited when their grandmother tracks them down and takes them both in.





	1. Childhood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kimmy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimmy/gifts).



Ashzera || Vampire Academy || The Herondale Twins || Shadowhunters || Velondalewood

Title: The Herondale Twins – And How They Were Reunited

Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments | Vampire Academy

Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. All rights to the _Vampire Academy_ movie reserved to Angry Films, the books the movie is based off and its characters belong to Richelle Mead. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: m/m, polyamory (m/m/m), past abuse, hurt/comfort, childhood sweethearts, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Alec/Bat/Jace & Mason/Christian

Side Pairings: Rose/Lissa, Maia/Clary, Simon/Isabelle, Seb/Rebecca, Luke/Jocelyn, Alaric/Dot

Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan Christopher 'Jace' Wayland, Bartholomew 'Bat' Velasquez, Alexander Gideon 'Alec' Lightwood, Isabelle Sophia 'Izzy' Lightwood, Clarissa Adele 'Clary' Fray, Sebastian Morgenstern, Lydia Branwell, Maia Roberts, Simon Lewis, Rebecca Lewis, Luke Garroway, Jocelyn Fray, Dorothea 'Dot' Rollins, Alaric Rodriguez, Imogen Herondale, Elaine Lewis

Vampire Academy Characters: Christian Ozera, Mason Ashford, Natalie Dashkov, Vasilisa 'Lissa' Sabina Rhea Dragomir, Rosemarie 'Rose' Hathaway

Summary: When Stephen and Céline Herondale died, their twin-sons went into foster-care, unbeknownst to anyone. Christian grew up with the Ozeras, Jace grew up with Michael Wayland. At age ten, they are reunited when their grandmother tracks them down and takes them both in.

**The Herondale Twins**

_And How They Were Reunited_

_Part 1: Childhood_

Stephen and Céline Herondale died in a horrible accident when Céline was eight months pregnant.

What was as horrible as the accident itself was the ensuing misunderstanding. Their twin sons were saved from death, just barely so. But the bodies of their parents could not be identified and the only living relatives – Stephen's parents, living in Europe – were informed wrongly that the babies had died too, when in reality both boys went into foster care.

Christian was taken in by the Ozeras. A couple greedy for power and wealth, raising Christian to be their heir. Cold and without attachment or love for the boy, like he was a mere tool. He grew up isolated and without friends. He got bullied and shunned at school, for being weird. He wasn't weird, he was just an abused, lonely and frightened child.

Jonathan Christopher was taken in by Michael Wayland. A vicious, abusive man who raised the boy wanting him to be _perfect_. Whenever he wasn't perfect, he would get physically punished. He was being emotionally and physically abused, kept isolated from other children, other people.

Imogen Herondale all the while went through her own personal hell. Her son had died, his wife, their two children. Shortly thereafter, her husband succumbed to the heartbreak caused by those losses and all of a sudden, Imogen had lost _everything_.

It took her a whole decade to regain at least _some_ of what she had lost – her grandsons.

When Jonathan was ten years old, his foster father died and he went back into the system. It was only by sheer coincident that Imogen's neighbor Detective Luke Garroway got the case of Michael's murder. The moment Luke laid eyes on the frightened little blonde with the large, mismatched eyes, Luke felt reminded of Céline Herondale. The same eyes, the same look in those eyes. That wasn't much to go by and at first, Luke just worked the case and tried not to think on it. But then Luke and his partner Alaric dug deeper into the victim's past and a lot was uncovered.

Michael Wayland was not who he said he was and all evidence pointed toward him abusing his son. His adopted son. Looking more into it, some things about the adoption itself seemed shady so Luke went a little off-course to see what it was. Turned out Luke's hunch was right.

Jonathan Wayland was one of the supposedly dead Herondale twins.

/break\

"Jocelyn, Luke, it's so nice of you to have me over."

Imogen smiled fondly as she entered the Garroway-house. The Garroways were her favorite neighbors, if she was being honest. After the death of her family, the Garroways had been very supportive. It was probably misplaced guilt too. Jocelyn Garroway had been an FBI agent, placed deep undercover in the Circle, a known terror-group. Luke was a police detective, part of the joined task-force of NYPD and FBI. It was Jocelyn, in the end, who took them down. But by then, Céline and Stephen, who had fallen to this cult, were already dead.

"Granny Imogen, did you bring stories?", asked Isabelle Garroway with large eyes.

The smile on Imogen's face grew as she placed a hand on the little girl's head. Isabelle and her older brother Alexander had been children of two cult-members of the Circle. When the couple, and the rest of the Circle, went to prison, their children remained. Jocelyn and Luke had adopted them. Maybe to make up for things, since they had caused the children's parents to go to prison.

During her time undercover, Jocelyn had effectively made the Circle's leader fall in love with her. It hadn't been planned for her to fall pregnant – and in the aftermath, Jocelyn was sure that it had been his doing – but she could not kill her own children, even when they had the DNA of a terrorist.

By now, Luke and Jocelyn who had only met during the case, had gotten married and were raising all four children together. Jocelyn's biological children Sebastian and Clarissa, as well as the Lightwood-siblings Alexander and Isabelle. It was a lot of work, but they weren't alone.

Imogen, as she had lost everyone dear to her, became a pillar for the Garroways. She babysat, she helped. She... She was trying to do what she never would get to do for her own grandchildren.

There were others too, of course. Elaine Lewis and her husband from across the street, who had two children around their age too, had an arrangement with the Garroways where they would take each other's children to allow the other couple a weekend of peace.

Then there was Luke's partner at the NYPD, Alaric Rodriguez. He helped out, best as he could. He got better with the kids over the years, especially after he started dating Jocelyn's best friend and business partner Dot Rollins. After the Circle was taken down, Jocelyn quit the FBI – two parents in such a dangerous job were just too much. For the first couple of years, she was a stay-at-home mother and got to concentrate not just on the four children they were raising but also on her art, a secret passion she had never really gotten to indulge in. Then, she opened up an antiques store with her best friend Dot. It was a lovely store and Imogen had to confess to being their best customer.

"Ah, but your mom banned me from story-time", chuckled Imogen gently.

Little Isabelle pouted in an endearing way. She was far too obsessed with gross things – sneaking into the case-files from Luke, wanting to hear about the gruesome cases Imogen had judged during her time as a judge, before retirement. Jocelyn had been mortified when she first heard Imogen indulge Isabelle with scary stories about cases. Looking back at it, that might not have been the wisest idea to tell a little girl such stories.

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy!"

Imogen bit her lips as she watched Clary run up to her slightly older sister. Isabelle and Clary were only a few months apart, Alec was the oldest, being two years older than them, then came Sebastian, a year younger than Alec and older than the girls. It had been hell, right after they had taken Alec and Isabelle in – two babies and two toddlers were a lot to handle.

"O—oh. Granny Imogen!", gasped Clary. "Hello! I have to show you all of my new paintings!"

"You absolutely have to", agreed Imogen. "But I think your parents wanted to talk to me first."

Luke smiled as he nodded at Imogen. "Clary, Izzy, why don't you go and play with your brothers?"

The little girls frowned, but nodded and ran upstairs. Luke instantly sobered up as he looked at Imogen. Something was up. She frowned cautiously as she followed Luke toward the living room. There, Imogen found Jocelyn and Sebastian. The redheaded woman sat next to her son at the piano. She had started teaching him a couple of years ago.

"You're getting really good, Sebastian", praised Imogen.

"That he is", agreed Jocelyn. "Why don't we call it a day and you go play with your siblings?"

"Okay, mom", hummed Sebastian and jumped off the bench. "Thank you, Imogen."

"You're very welcome, young man", chuckled Imogen as she sat down on the couch.

"Imogen...", started Luke as he and Jocelyn sat down next to him.

The two were opposite Imogen, looking at her. Yes, something was most definitely going on.

"Just tell me, whatever it is", chuckled Imogen curiously.

"There... has been a new development in the Morgenstern case", replied Luke.

"How?", asked Imogen with a frown, fingers clawing into her skirt. "The case is closed. Morgenstern died, his Circle was taken down."

"That... is all true", confirmed Luke, fidgeting with his hands. "But... It turns out that your grandsons did in fact not... die."

"...W... What...?", asked Imogen, voice breaking a little.

"There was a homicide that I'm currently working on. Single-father. And the boy, he looked so... familiar. The more I worked the case and dug into the past, the more suspicious it looked. Turns out there had been a... mix-up. The twins had been saved, but since no one had been able to... identify Céline back then, the twins went into the system. A paper-work mix-up between Céline's death-certificate and that of another Jane Doe had lead to them telling you the twins were dead."

"You... You're saying my grandsons... are... alive?", asked Imogen, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We have only found one of them", added Luke hastily, before Imogen could get her hopes up too much. "He had been adopted by one Michael Wayland. We're still looking for his twin-brother."

"Where is he? When can I see him?", asked Imogen, getting up already.

/break\

Jonathan frowned confused as he followed the lady who had introduced herself as Imogen Herondale. His grandmother. He didn't really understand it yet. His father had just died and he had no family aside from him. But now the detective had explained to him that he had been adopted. That his birth parents were dead and he had a living grandmother who wanted to take him in.

"Well, this is my house. Our house, now", stated Imogen with a smile.

"Okay. Thank you, ma'am", nodded Jonathan reluctantly.

"Please. Imogen, at least", requested Imogen a little pained.

"Okay", nodded Jonathan hastily.

He wouldn't want to upset the lady. If she didn't like him, she might return him to the orphanage he had been staying in for the past week since his father had been killed. He had to be on his best behavior so he wouldn't anger her. If she thought he was a good boy, maybe she would keep him...?

"It's not very much, since this was so sudden, but I prepared the guest room for you for now."

"Thank you", nodded Jonathan, following her upstairs.

The room was nice. Large, with a huge bed and a closet and desk and chair. Pretty much like his old bedroom had been too. He turned toward Imogen, waiting for some kind of instructions.

"How... How about you get settled in some?", asked Imogen. "I have to talk to Luke, the detective who found you. He wants me to help find your brother."

Jonathan just nodded again. Brother. Suddenly, he had a brother. He didn't really understand that either. It was all so much. Sighing, Jonathan sat down on the bed and turned to look out of the window. After a moment, Jonathan noticed there were children playing in the backyard of the house right next to this. Slowly walking over, Jonathan peeked out to watch curiously.

There was a dark-haired boy, shooting some kind of toy at a target. Next to him stood a blonde boy. It looked like they were competing or something. A small redheaded girl sat on a swing a bit off. They didn't look like they were training though...

"Alec! Look!", exclaimed the redhead.

The boy shooting turned startled into the direction the redhead had pointed. And then he shot. Jonathan yelped as he backed off, the strange dart with a suction cup at the front flew right past his head. Staring wide-eyed, Jonathan turned toward the blue dart stuck to the door. Biting his lips, Jonathan went to pick the dart off and looked at it curiously. The ringing of the doorbell startled him for another moment. Imogen had said she had to talk to someone important. Jonathan quickly ran toward the door to open before whoever had rang it would ring it again and disturb her. Father had taught Jonathan to open the door when he was busy. He blinked surprised when he opened the door and saw four kids standing in front of him. Three out of four were the kids from the backyard. The other was a curious-looking dark-haired girl, slightly standing behind the two boys.

"Sorry for shooting you", offered the dark-haired boy. "I'm Alec Garroway. That's my siblings Sebastian, Isabelle and Clary. You're one of Imogen's grandsons, right?"

"Jonathan", nodded Jonathan reluctantly. "Jonathan Christopher Wayland."

"Jonathan?", echoed Clary and wiggled her nose. "That's a weird name."

Jonathan frowned and took a step back. They didn't like his name? He didn't want to be disliked on his first day here. Especially since Imogen seemed close to the neighbors – she went to talk to them and the detective was the one who had brought Jace here.

"Your name is Clarissa. It's weird too", countered Alec.

Clary gasped and stuck out her tongue at Alec. "No one calls me that! Everyone calls me Clary!" The redhead gasped and jumped suddenly. "That's it! He needs a nickname!"

"Oh! Yes!", agreed Isabelle excitedly. "What about John? Johnny?"

"He doesn't look like a Johnny", pointed Sebastian out, motioning at Jonathan.

"Nathan?", suggested Clary, giggling a little.

"No", huffed Sebastian and made a face. "You have a middle-name, right? Christopher? Chris?"

"But that's weird", hummed Clary with a frown. "We don't call Izzy Sophie either."

"Or you Addy", giggled Isabelle and nudged Clary.

At this point, the conversation officially went over Jonathan's head. "It's okay. You can just... call me something else."

"No", huffed Alec, frowning. "It's your _name_. Your nickname has to have to do with _you_. Oh! We could maybe be more creative? Like with Bat. See, we have a friend whose name is Bartholomew. Which was super hard to say for Clary when we first met him. So she started saying Bat."

"And now everyone calls him Bat", declared Clary, looking rather proud at that feat.

"Jonathan Christopher. Jonathan Christopher. Jonathan Christopher...", muttered Alec with a concentrated frown on his face. "J.C...? Jace...? How's that sound?"

"Jace?", echoed Sebastian thoughtfully, turning toward Jonathan. "Has a ring to it."

"Sounds _cool_ ", whispered Clary in awe.

"I think it fits", agreed Isabelle giddily. "What do you think?"

Jonathan was a little reluctant as he looked at the four other children. "...Okay."

"Cool! You have to come over and play with us, Jace!", declared Isabelle with a broad smile.

"...Play?", asked Jonathan – Jace – very softly and confused after the four children left.

/break\

Alec was pacing the Shadowhunters Institute. That was the super-awesome nickname of their tree-house that dad and uncle Alaric had built for them. The name came from what Alec and Sebastian used to call their parents when they were really small – Shadowhunters, because they hunted the shadows and the creepy monsters in them (Alec used to have a lot of nightmares when he was really small because of things he didn't remember anymore – things about his birth-parents and the place they used to live at with the bad people).

"Can you all shush it now so we can start this meeting?", asked Sebastian irritated.

Everyone went quiet and turned to look at Alec and Sebastian – Sebastian was sitting behind Alec. Alec nodded gratefully at that, receiving a nod back from his brother.

"As the official head of the Institute as the oldest, I called this meeting today because we have a new child in our street", stated Alec and finally stopped pacing. "That's why I called you all here."

Every child from their neighborhood was gathered.

The Lewis-siblings Rebecca and Simon. Alec got along rather well with Rebecca, while Simon was too loudmouthed for Alec. Sadly enough, Simon was Clary's best friend and as her big brother, Alec was obligated to accept him. And it was fine, Simon made Clary laugh a lot.

Maia Roberts from down the street was sitting with Simon and Clary as well as Bat Velasquez.

Alec's bestest friend in the world – Lydia Branwell – sat in the other corner behind Alec.

And then there were the three kids who technically were not living on Idris Avenue. They were living on St. Vladimir's Street, which was crossing over into Idris Avenue. The two streets shared a playground right at the corner, so the three kids were adopted into their friend-group. Natalie Dashkov, Rose Hathaway and Mason Ashford.

"So what's his deal?", asked Rose with a frown.

"He needs friends", piped Clary in. "He looked really sad and had that look on his face like Sebby and Alec when they compete for dad's praise. Like he _really_ wanted our approval."

Both Alec and Sebastian flushed and glared at their youngest sister while everyone else was laughing and snickering at that. Everyone knew that Alec and Sebastian were super competitive and loved how proudly their dad would praise them. Even though Luke always praised them _both_ , even the loser of the competition, for trying their hardest.

"So, we just befriend him then?", asked Bat curiously, tilting his head.

"Yeah. That", confirmed Isabelle, nodding eagerly.

"...But maybe not all at once", suggested Lydia, looking around the room. "How about we split it up in groups? Every group gets a shot to make the new kid warm up to them."

"Good suggestion. All in favor, raise their hands", agreed Alec, surveying the voting. "Very good. And since we are the oldest, we get first try."

"That's cheating!", chorused Isabelle and Clary with matching glares.

"Okay, fine. The youngest get to start", sighed Alec.

Clary grinned and puffed her chest out proudly, knowing her big brothers could never say no to her.

/break\

Jonathan – Jace – was laying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling quietly. Imogen was gone with the detectives. They were still looking for Jace's brother. Of course, Imogen wouldn't leave Jace alone, so she had dropped him off at the neighbor's. A tall redheaded woman. She had told him to get comfortable in the living room and that they would get more guests.

"Hello again!"

Jace frowned as he turned toward the small redhead next to the couch. "Hello. Clary."

"Ye—ep. You remembered my name!", exclaimed Clary excitedly.

Jace just nodded, frowning a little bit. His frown deepened when more children poured in.

"These are my bestest friends! Simon and Bat and Maia!", introduced Clary with a smile. "Do you want to play with us? We want to play hide and seek!"

"...Okay?", agreed Jace reluctantly. "What are the rules?"

"You don't know how hide and seek works?", asked Bat confused, leaning in.

"...I... I've never... _played_ with other children. Or... did anything with other children", shrugged Jace upset. "I'm sorry. Perhaps it's better if you play alone."

"No!", disagreed Bat and took Jace's hand. "It's okay. We can totally explain the rules to you. It's not a hard game. One person has to count to fifty and not look while the others hide. Then the one who counted has to go and find the others. The goal is, for those who hide, to be the last one."

"Okay", nodded Jace with a frown.

"It's okay. I'm sure you'll do fine", promised Simon optimistically.

"I can stay with you for now?", offered Bat with a kind smile. "Show you how it works?"

"...Okay", agreed Jace reluctantly.

"I count!", declared Clary with a broad, toothy grin.

She turned away from them and covered her eyes as she started counting. Maia and Simon ran off into one direction, while Bat grabbed Jace's hand and pulled him into the other direction. Jace stared down at their linked hands as he let the other boy pull him along. In Jace's general experience, physical contact led to pain. He tried to calm down his breathing as he allowed it.

"Look", whispered Bat. "This is one of the best hiding spots in the Garroway house."

Nodding, Jace crawled into the closet-space together with Bat, Bat closing the door behind them and grinning broadly. These children were strange. What was the _purpose_ of this game...? Why were they all constantly smiling at him? He _hated_ confined spaces.

"You okay?", asked Bat softly, reaching a hand out for Jace.

Jace wanted to flinch, but Bat's touch was very gentle. Jace wasn't used to that. He frowned as he stared at Bat's hand on his, holding it. Just holding it. Somehow, it was... reassuring. Though Jace wasn't quite sure what he was being reassured of here...

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thank you... Bat", whispered Jace back.

/break\

While Jonathan – no, Jace, he apparently now preferred to be called Jace – was like the perfect merger of Stephen and Céline, Christian looked remarkably much like Imogen. Or so she thought as she carried the scared, little boy into the house. He had been clinging onto her ever since Luke and Alaric had handed the child over to her. He had looked just as broken as Jace and how had this happened...? How had both of her beautiful grandsons ended up in abusive homes...? It broke her heart all over again. Carefully, she hugged him even tighter.

"It's going to be alright, Christian", assured Imogen gently. "You're safe now. They will never hurt you again, I promise. You'll live with me and with your... brother... from now on."

Imogen smiled faintly as she entered Jace's bedroom. The blonde was sitting in his closet with Bat Velasquez. Somehow, those two had really hit it off – though Jace seemingly had already integrated well into the neighborhood in general. He seemed particularly inclined to Clary's group of friends – Maia, Simon and Bat – and the least close to Isabelle's group of friends – Natalie, Rose and Mason. Imogen wasn't quite sure how well Jace was getting along with Sebastian, Rebecca and Lydia, but he seemed rather... attached... to Alec. As far as Imogen had heard, Alec had been the one to give Jace his nickname. For now, Jace seemed mainly confused and unsure about all those new people in his life and Imogen couldn't fault him for that. It was why she had asked Luke and Jocelyn to please look out for Jace when babysitting so Jace wouldn't be overwhelmed by all the children – it wasn't rare for the Garroways to host all their children's friends. The couple understood that and made sure that only one of their children had their friends over, the others going to visit their friends instead. Well, Alec and Sebastian were an exception; the two boys were hard to separate and together, they only had two close friends – Rebecca and Lydia.

"Bat, your mother is waiting downstairs to take you home", informed Imogen.

She had figured out after the first time that Jace didn't do well with being removed from the house just yet – he was afraid of being abandoned. So instead, Imogen made a habit of asking the babysitter to stay over, at least for now. Though, now that Christian was finally with them, Imogen had no plans of leaving her grandsons alone again any time soon.

"Jace. There is someone I'd like for you to meet...", started Imogen, cautiously putting Christian down. "This is your... brother, Christian. Christian, this is Jace."

The two boys stood opposite each other, staring at each other. Jace with his golden-blonde hair and Christian with his dark-brown hair, longer and falling onto his shoulders. Aside from that, they were downright identical. Such endearing little boys. Céline would adore them and Stephen would be so proud and oh, if only Marcus could get to spoil his grandsons... Imogen took a deep breath and tried to swallow down the tears that threatened to leak at this.

"Hi", greeted Jace after a long moment, awkwardly sticking his hand out.

"...Hello", whispered Christian, reluctantly taking the hand.

Imogen _really_ hoped those two boys would warm up to each other, and to her.

/break\

It was three months later that Christian's room was converted back to the guest room it had originally been and Jace's room got a bunk-bed. Despite Imogen's worries, the twins had bonded pretty much instantly. May it be the pull of being siblings, being twins – or the shared pain of having been abused. They grew close, to the point that Christian regularly snuck into Jace's bed because of nightmares. Which both boys benefited from because Jace had his own fair share of nightmares. They'd fall asleep clinging onto each other and that was how Imogen would find them.

Giving them a shared room seemed to be the best course of action and it paid off too. Over the following weeks, Jace and Christian seemed more at ease, were slowly starting to open up. The psychologist Imogen visited with the children – family therapy – seemed to help too, but Imogen knew that more than this, it was the bond between Jace and Christian that helped them.

She smiled faintly to herself, holding a hot mug of tea in her hands as she leaned against the doorway and watched the two boys sleep. They seemed to like their new bunk-bed. Though... they still _shared_ a bed. Both laying in the lower bunk, the blanket pulled up to their chins as they hugged and slept peacefully. Imogen promised herself that she would never let harm come to those two little angels again. She would protect them. No one would hurt them again under her watch.

/break\

Christian frowned as he was half hidden behind his brother. They were out, watching a soccer game – Alec, Sebastian, Mason and Bat were on a soccer team together and they had a game. While Christian would really prefer to be at home and in the safety of their room, Jace was very outgoing. He knew how to charm people and everyone seemed to want to be friends with him. Jace was also growing really attached to the others. Where Christian was _afraid_ of being attached to others because he was afraid to be hurt again, Jace was _desperate_ and clinging onto everyone who paid attention to him, begging to be loved. Where Christian was trying to blend into the shadows so no abuser would find him again, Jace sought out the spotlight and hoped for someone to find him and love him. Grandma said they couldn't be more different, but that she still loved them both.

It was just problematic due to the fact that Jace was _the one_ person Christian was attached to and clinging onto. So when Jace went out to watch soccer games or do stuff with the other kids, then Christian was forced to come along because he wasn't willing to leave Jace's side.

"Bat's the best goalie in the whole neighborhood!", declared Maia proudly, cheering loudly.

"I just wish Alec and Seb would spend less time competing with each other", frowned Isabelle.

"I'm glad we aren't like that", giggled Clary next to her, looking at Isabelle.

Izzy grinned and they fist-bumped, their matching sistership-bracelets chiming. Christian watched them curiously, head tilted. The Garroway-siblings were odd. Alec and Isabelle were blood-siblings, so were Clary and Sebastian. Luke wasn't the father of any of them, but he still loved and cherished them – and coached them, he was the soccer team's coach and totally biased as he kept fist-bumping the air every single time one of his sons scored. Clary and Sebastian were Jocelyn's children, but Alec and Isabelle weren't. Alec and Isabelle weren't related to either of them and yet they were being loved and sheltered and supported and cared for. Christian didn't understand. _His_ adopted parents had treated him like a tool to be sharpened and trained, ignoring and dismissing him when he was of no use. _Jace's_ adopted father had treated him like a tool to be sharpened and trained, hurting him whenever Jace displeased the man. So _why_ would someone love children that weren't their own...? Personal experience and experience of his brother told Christian that adults didn't take other people's children in to raise and love them. There had to be an agenda.

But there _wasn't_. Luke never beat Alec and Sebastian when they lost a game. Isabelle never had to go without meals when stumbling during a ballet performance. Clary was never locked into the closet for hours for getting paint everywhere. The most they got was a stern-talking to if they broke a rule, or getting grounded once – because Sebastian and Rebecca had pranked Alaric.

Christian didn't understand. He didn't understand it at all. He just clung onto Jace and both of them did their best to not screw anything up or anger Imogen, just to be on the cautious side of things.

"You okay, Chris?", asked Jace softly, side-eyeing him.

Christian nodded, but he was still glad when Jace took his hand. He never thought he'd get this. His own human, someone who was there for him and understood him and wouldn't abandon him. But Jace was that. Jace was strong when Christian was afraid. And when push came to shove, _Christian_ could actually be strong for Jace too. Because while Jace was good at putting on a carefree mask, being loud and arrogant, he was still hurting too and as afraid of abuse and abandonment as him.

"You came! You came to cheer me on!", exclaimed the excitable redhead.

...One of the excitable redheads. Christian frowned and ducked a little more behind Jace. Mason Ashford was a handful. He was very happy and cheerful and optimistic and he also had an easy time making friends. But for _some_ reason, he had decided that he wanted to befriend Christian.

"Jace made me come", replied Christian and gave Mason a look.

"It's okay", grinned Mason. "You came. That's what matters."

One by one, more of the team started to flock around them, making Christian uncomfortable. He disliked being crowded in like this. Bat Velasquez flopped down on the ground right in front of Jace, beaming at him and waiting for some kind of recognition.

"You were awesome", grinned Jace, tilting his head as he looked at Bat.

Bat seemed to beam even brighter at that. "I wish you'd play with us, Jace! You'd be awesome!"

"Soccer isn't my thing", frowned Jace and shook his head.

"Well then maybe we have to find a sport for you, Jace!", suggested Natalie.

"Oh. Try-outs", nodded Mason eagerly, turning toward Christian. "You wanna try too?"

"No. Sports are stupid. I just wanna go back home and read", frowned Christian.

"We could start a book-club!", offered Natalie, eyes sparkling.

"That sounds interesting", agreed Lydia and tilted her head, looking over at Alec.

Alec blinked a couple of times and turned to look at Jace quizzically. Over the past months, Alec and Jace had learned to talk without words. It was a bit weird, but also kind of cool. Christian liked that Jace had made such a good friend already. And Christian could _do that too_ with Jace, so it was okay. The way it looked, Alec was checking in with Jace to see whether or not he was supposed to support this idea, because Jace knew Christian the best – and would know whether or not Christian was _really_ willing to give this a try. Sighing softly, Christian gave Jace's hand a squeeze. Jace smiled and nodded at Alec, prompting Alec to give a nod of his own.

"Book club sounds like a good idea", agreed Alec, smiling at Lydia and Natalie.

"But we're still gonna find a sport for Jace, right?", asked Bat hopefully.

"Definitely!", exclaimed Mason, fist-bumping the air.

/break\

Book club was nice. It wasn't just Natalie, Christian, Jace, Alec and Lydia, because grandma had decided to join too – she said she hadn't gotten to read nearly as much as she'd like to. Somehow, Christian doubted that _Treasure Island_ stood high on Imogen Herondale's favorite book list, but oh well. Christian appreciated the effort. She was trying to show interest in the things her grandsons liked and she was trying to be an active part of their lives. She was doing her best – and it was a hundred times better than anything Christian and Jace had ever experienced.

"Okay", sighed Isabelle as she sat down next to Christian. "Hockey's off the list too."

Simon hummed as he sat down on Isabelle's other side, together with Clary. Clary had the pad with the list of sports. For the past three months now, they had been working on finding a sport for Jace to play. He showed talent in _all_ of them, that wasn't the problem – Jace was an incredibly athletic guy with quite the talent for everything and he was also a quick study. The problem was that they wanted to find a sport Jace _genuinely enjoyed_. The blonde was so used to doing _tasks_ and _chores_ and to only do whatever his father had told him to. And everybody knew, which was why they were trying to find something Jace _liked_. That, Christian could respect. It was why Christian endured all of those gatherings with all of those people, because he knew said people gathered because they apparently _cared_ about Jace... and about Christian.

"How about ballet?", suggested Clary and tilted her head. "He could go to classes with you, Izzy."

"...Jace in a tutu?", asked Simon with a frown.

"Boys don't wear tutus, silly", giggled Isabelle, making Simon smile.

He always smiled when he managed to make Isabelle laugh. Simon was a nice guy, Christian was kind of fond of him. He always worked hard to make his friends happy and he always had interesting stories to tell because he knew all of the cartoons and all of the comics (Christian and Jace had never been allowed to watch or read such things, so they had a lot to catch up on).

"How about the game where they run in a square?", asked Christian cautiously.

Instantly, the attention of the other kids was on him. He hated attention. Shifting awkwardly, he tried to blend back into the shadows. A panting Mason sat down next to him, spreading his arms out and collapsing backward to stare into the sky. He had been showing Jace how to play hockey.

"Run in a square? You mean baseball?", offered Mason curiously.

"Yes. That. It works with precision, hitting stuff and a lot of running. Most sports aren't so much fun for Jace because there's not enough running. Or they are too... team-oriented. Team sports are okay and I think Jace wants a team-sport, but he is used to being best and standing out. The way I saw it when Mister Garroway was watching baseball last weekend, the one throwing the ball is like the most important and most outstanding player. So it's a team-sport where Jace could still be very important. And he'd get to show off skills and run a lot", elaborated Christian.

"...That's a good one", grunted Mason, blinking a couple times. "Clary, the list!"

Clary got out her neon-pink crayon and added baseball to the list. "On it."

/break\

Bat was grinning broadly as he watched Jace laugh freely. He liked hearing Jace laugh, the blonde didn't do that too often. That was why the kids had teamed up to find the perfect sport for Jace to play, one where Jace would have _fun_. Every weekend for the past few months, they had been going through every sport they could think of – swimming, running, hockey, football, soccer, basketball, dancing, archery (because Alec was a little weirdo who did weird sports, but Jace was very impressed by that). But baseball seemed to do the trick. When Jace hit his first homerun, he was laughing and smiling brightly as he ran. Christian had been on point with his suggestion. While Jace ran, Bat turned to look at Christian on the stands. The brunette was watching his brother, looking proud and happy. Which was rather rare, because Christian wasn't one to be openly happy.

"This is _awesome_ ", panted Jace as he reached Bat again.

"You are awesome", replied Bat with a giant grin. "And judging by the look Alaric is giving us, the coach is _totally_ on board with you joining the team."

Alaric was Bat's godfather and coaching Bat's little league team. And Alaric's eyes were practically sparkling. Their team could use a better pitcher, because their current pitcher kind of sucked. And Jace had thrown perfectly, after Bat had explained to him how he was supposed to throw. Running and batting worked really well too and Jace was clearly having fun.

"Thanks for bringing me, Batman", grinned Jace as he hugged Bat.

"No problem, Captain America", laughed Bat. "Let's go tell Superman and Wonder Woman."

Jace nodded eagerly and let Bat pull him along toward the stands where, aside from Christian, were also Simon and Maia. When Bat gave them the thumbs-up, Simon and Maia high-fived.

"Does that mean you will finally stop dragging me to a different sports-thing every weekend?", asked Christian hopefully and put his book away.

"Well, from now on, you'll just be dragged to baseball practice", replied Jace with a grin.

Christian made a show of heaving a sigh, but he looked pleased on his brother's behalf.

/break\

Alec was finally done with _Treasure Island_ and sighed as he closed the book. Leaning back, Alec closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of his family. Sebastian was practicing the piano, Clary was humming along where she laid on the ground in the living room, drawing. Faint, exasperated noises from the kitchen alerted Alec that mom was trying to teach Isabelle how to cook _again_. Izzy was very eager to learn how to cook, but the ten-year-old girl proved to be resistant to any teaching.

"What's on your mind, son?", asked Luke in a gentle voice.

The next moment, Luke sat down next to Alec on the window-sill. "I finished the book."

"I can see that", chuckled Luke. "You really enjoying that book-club, mh?"

"Uhu. I mean, reading is fun. But reading with Jace and the others is more fun."

"Jace and the others?", echoed Luke, raising his eyebrows.

It used to be 'Lydia and the others' when Alec listed his friends. And while Alec still spent a lot of time with his best friend Lydia, he had also been spending more and more time with the blonde Herondale. Jace had started sneaking into the house through the window, to spend more time with Alec. Which was really becoming a problem. Between Simon and Jace, somehow the window had become a second entrance to their house. Luke couldn't help but wonder what the future would hold for them. Simon and Clary were so inseparable already, Jocelyn and Elaine had been planning the wedding since the kids were four. It was nice seeing Alec make more friends – he mainly just stuck with Sebastian, made friends with Rebecca and Lydia through him.

"How's Jace doing?", asked Luke carefully.

Alec blinked, looking up at Luke with those sharp, clever eyes of his. "I think he's doing better. Baseball helps him a lot. He's been having fewer nightmares."

"Good", hummed Luke with a smile, ruffling Alec's hair. "Now, how about we go out and shoot some arrows, if you're done reading? It smells burned, so dinner will be a while longer."

Alec giggled and wiggled his nose before he nodded eagerly.

/break\

Mason Ashford was a man with a mission. Man-to-be. Boy sounded like he was a kid, but he was already eleven so he was totally not a _kid_ anymore. And his mission was _important_.

"Really, Maze?", groaned Rose as she trailed after him.

Mason grumbled as he led the group. Natalie walked with her arms crossed behind her back, walking on Mason's other side. Maia and Isabelle were with them too, talking animatedly with each other. They were going to see a movie. The _Treasure Planet_. Luke was going to take them.

"We read _Treasure Island_ for book-club half a year ago! And I remember that Chris really liked it. So we're taking Chris with us to the movie, Rosemarie!", declared Mason seriously.

"Rosemarie", giggled Natalie, side-eyeing Rose.

Rose stuck her tongue out at Natalie and huffed at Mason. Straightening up, Mason rang the doorbell. Luke came up behind the children, grinning amused at Mason's determination.

"Hello, children", greeted Imogen curiously as she opened the door. "What can I do for you?"

"Can we borrow Chris?", asked Mason hopefully. "We're gonna go see _Treasure Planet_ and I wanna take Christian with us! He's home, right?"

"...He is. Jace however is at the park with Alec and Bat, training", replied Imogen. "A moment?"

Mason nodded. He knew Jace was training with Alec and Bat. He was very eager to be the best of the best, so he always did special training and Alec and Bat always had his back with that. That was why Mason was so nervous if Christian would go with them. Chris rarely went anywhere without Jace. Five minutes later and a reluctant Christian poked his head out.

"That's the space-pirate movie, right?", asked Christian softly.

"Yes! Will you come with us?", asked Isabelle eagerly.

"...Okay", agreed Christian after a moment.

Imogen smiled and rested a hand on Christian's shoulder. "Have fun, sweetie."

"I will, grandma", assured Christian as he went to follow the others.

"I'm glad you'll come with us", hummed Mason pleased, smiling.

Christian wiggled his nose, fidgeting with his hands. Usually, he held Jace's hand when going somewhere. The lack of Jace was making Christian nervous. He knew his dependence on his brother wasn't the healthiest and he knew he had to learn to do things without Jace, but it was hard. Jace protected him, Jace made him feel safe and Jace was the one person he one hundred percent believed that he loved Christian unconditionally. Christian startled when Mason slipped his hand into Christian's, linking fingers with him and smiling reassuringly. Blinking a couple times, Christian stared down at their linked hands. It wasn't Jace, but it still felt reassuring.

"That okay?", asked Mason softly.

Christian nodded reluctantly. "Yes. Thank you."

/break\

Jace was sitting on the roof right outside of Alec's window, Alec next to him. He could hear Bat, Maia, Clary and Simon in the room next door, playing with each other. Jace hated coming over to the Garroways when Alec had his friends over and Clary had her friends over and Jace had to decide if he wanted to spend time with Alec or with Bat.

"Someone new's moving in", hummed Jace, tilting his head.

There was a moving truck parked outside the one house that had stood empty for a few weeks now. Alec sighed and leaned back some. He noticed that Jace was shuddering. It was getting chilly. Frowning, Alec grabbed his hoodie from where it laid on the window-sill and handed it over to Jace. The blonde blinked at him before he put the hoodie on. Alec grinned, blushing despite himself. It was stupid, but lately, when he looked at Jace, Jace seemed _different_. More special. Alec wasn't stupid, he was thirteen, he knew the rabbit-jumping heart and flushed cheeks meant that he most likely had a _crush_ on Jace. Alec had talked to Sebastian about it (hypothetically speaking. He was so not giving his brother any ammunition to tease him with). Sebastian had experience. He had already had a girlfriend – they held hands and even kissed on the _cheek_. So Sebastian clearly had superior understanding of complicated romantic relationships. And those fluttery feelings in the stomach and hot cheeks and the awe he felt when looking at Jace, they all meant he had a crush.

"They're the Dragomirs", replied Alec as he shook himself out of admiring Jace wearing Alec's hoodie. "Mom brought them an apple pie yesterday to welcome them in the neighborhood. They have a daughter around our age, she said."

"Huh", nodded Jace, snuggling into the hoodie. "Can we go inside and play video-games? I still have Simon's butt to kick. We could play in teams? Three against three."

"Okay. I'll tell Clary and steal us a Bat", agreed Alec.

Jace grinned and bumped fists with Alec before the two boys crawled back inside.

/break\

Mason frowned as he sat on the edge of the street, watching Rose, Natalie and their newest friend Lissa Dragomir play hopscotch. It wasn't that Mason _disliked_ Lissa. She seemed nice enough. But Rose and Lissa were basically inseparable these days and Mason didn't know how he was supposed to handle _that_. Sure, Mason was kind of friends with everyone in their large group, to some degree, but Rose had always been his closest friend. The two of them against the world had always been what the two of them did. Natalie and Isabelle, Maia and Simon, they were also their friends, but when push came to shove, Rose and Mason always turned to each other. Now, Mason didn't seem to get Rose to himself at all anymore.

"She's still new."

Mason startled as Christian suddenly sat down next to him. "W—What...?"

"Vasilisa. She's still new and she doesn't know anyone here and Rose is helping her make friends. Like Alec's helped Jace make friends here", elaborated Christian, also looking at the three girls. "Like when I first moved here and you spent all your time lingering around me like some lost puppy. And _Rose_ didn't complain either. Well. Not too much at least. So _stop pouting_."

Frowning, Mason wanted to protest. But he found himself unable to. Christian kind of had a point – when Chris had first moved here, Mason had been focused on him for weeks and weeks. And while Rose _had_ bitched a lot, she had also not held it against him.

"...Do you want to come inside?", offered Christian reluctantly. "Jace and I wanted to play _Settlers_ , but that's no fun with just two people. So, if you promise not to be overly annoying..."

With sparkling eyes did Mason get off the street and follow Christian into the Herondale house, where Jace was already sitting at a table and setting up the game. Jace barely spared them a glance and a nod before he continued doing so, not acknowledging how Mason was positively beaming.

/break\

Alec was fourteen when he had his first kiss. It was awkward and their noses bumped uncomfortably and it lasted for about half a second total, just their lips pressed together, but it was _everything_. They had been in the tree-house while the adults were preparing barbecue in the garden. The Herondales and Garroways had torn down their fence to make one large garden for the kids to enjoy together – Imogen had even paid for a _pool_ in their now large enough garden.

"B—Bat", sputtered Alec, cheeks and ears on fire as he stared at his friend.

Bat looked at him wide-eyed and embarrassed. "I—I like you and Maia said I should just kiss you and get it over with and _maybe_ Maia isn't the best to ask for advise when it comes to this stuff, but I didn't know who else to ask because Simon is _super_ useless. But I like you and I want you to be my boyfriend. Do you wanna be my boyfriend?"

Alec just nodded sharply, unable to say words. He still had a crush – _steadily_ growing crush – on Jace. But he also thought that Bat was really cute. Had been thinking that a lot lately, every time Alec would get to watch a baseball game with Jace as the pitcher and Bat as the catcher.

"Cool!", exclaimed Bat with a toothy grin. "Let's go get barbecue."

Alec nodded and allowed Bat to pull him along. It was one of the things that Alec liked the most about Bat. Bat was direct and open and sweet. A blush lit up Alec's cheeks when they got down from the tree-house and stood in the middle of the big beginning-of-summer-barbecue that Luke and Jocelyn always threw for the neighborhood. Somehow, Alec felt like everybody could see on his face that he had just kissed Bat Velasquez and now had a _boyfriend_.


	2. Adulthood

_Part 2: Adulthood_

Alec was smiling softly as he looked at Jace. Rock-Solid Panda was performing and Jace was singing and Jace was just _so beautiful_ when he was singing. Jace and Simon had started their own band a couple of months ago, with some guys from their class.

Honestly, high school had done Jace _wonders_. He had already been very popular among their groups of friends, but in high school? He basically became a superstar. He was athletic, _hot as hell_ , charming, the valued pitcher of the baseball team who had helped them win every game since he joined, one of the lead singers of the school... Seemingly everybody had a crush on Jace.

"He looks way too hot in those leather-pants", whispered Bat lowly into Alec's ear.

Bat was sitting half on Alec's lap, chin resting on Alec's shoulder and nibbling on Alec's earlobe. Alec grinned broadly, one arm loosely around Bat's waist. The two of them had been dating for three years now and... Alec had really adjusted well to it. To being gay.

It wasn't that he had ever really thought being gay was _wrong_ ; mom and dad had never led him to believe that. And they had also been really supportive and kind, embracing him and all. Luke had even taken Alec to his first pride, despite how anxious Alec had been about it.

Now, three years later, three years of dating the kindest, sweetest cutie, Alec had developed a kind of "I'm gay, so what?" attitude. The fact that he had grown quite a bit in his teens and was really athletic helped keeping others from making fun of him. Well, that and the fact that both his dad and his uncle were cops. They had gotten to use the hate crime spiel on a bully once; the fifteen year old brat had _cried_ like a baby. It had worked and Alec loved Luke and Alaric just a tiny bit more for doing it, really. So, that was where Alec was at the moment. In high school, dating the catcher of the baseball team, being the captain of the archery club and... still being in love with Jace Herondale. But at least he wasn't the only one in love with Jace anymore.

Or rather, he had never been the only one, because Bat had been crushing on Jace for nearly as long as Alec. Only, unlike Alec, Bat had actually mustered the courage to ask Jace out. Apparently, Jace had shut him down with a straight-up mortified expression on his face. Two months later, Bat had asked Alec out – and here they were. Though Bat had repeatedly assured Alec that Alec was in no way or shape a rebound, but that Bat was polyamorous and totally head over heals with both Jace and Alec and he loved Alec just as much. Which was an interesting concept; polyamory. After a while of getting informed on that, Alec came to the conclusion that he was apparently also polyamorous, because he had definitely fallen in love with Bat by now, but never stopped loving Jace. He loved them both, even though he could only have one of them.

"Yeah, I love and hate those skin-tight black leather pants", sighed Alec softly.

He let his hand slip down to Bat's butt, squeezing and pulling Bat closer so he could kiss him. Bat hummed contently into the kiss, resting one hand against Alec's chest in a definitely groping way.

"You nervous about the big game, babe?", asked Alec lowly.

"Eh. Jace is the best pitcher around and the two of us have been playing together for ten years. There's no way we're gonna lose", replied Bat with a broad grin.

Before Alec could replied to that, the gig ended, so both of them started clapping. It took Jace about half a minute before he collapsed next to Alec and Bat with a giant, happy grin, looking at them expectantly. He had that one specific look, with the large, hopeful eyes, the one that made him look like a puppy who really wanted a petting and praise. Which was exactly what he was looking for.

"You sounded amazing, Jace", grinned Bat and reached over to ruffle Jace's hair.

The blonde happily leaned into the touch before leaning against Alec, panting a little from the singing. Alec gulped hard, because a sweaty, panting Jace snuggling up to him was ridiculous. Bat got more comfortable on Alec's lap and wrapped an arm around Jace comfortingly.

"Where did you lose Simon?", asked Alec with a frown, looking around.

"He went to fawn over your sister. As he always does", supplied Jace, nuzzling into Alec's chest.

He yawned softly, definitely exhausted after the gig. Alec grunted and looked around, just to spot Isabelle at the bar with Maia, Clary and – ah, Simon. Alec rolled his eyes, just a little fondly.

Simon had been crushing on Clary ever since they were little children. Only to be let down gently when Clary turned fourteen and kissed her first girl and girlfriend since then; Maia. For a while, Simon had then dated Natalie, before that came apart. And now, the most recent development in the love-life of Simon Lewis was that he was dating Alec's _other_ sister. It had happened during a science fair last year, when Simon, Izzy, Natalie and Christian had made first place and, in a moment of utter excitement and pure adrenaline, Simon and Izzy had kissed.

/break\

"I can't believe you're going to college", sighed Jocelyn, hugging Sebastian and Alec. "Luke."

"No, Joce. Let the boys leave", grunted Luke with a heavy sigh. "They're not moving out yet. They're going to prom. Please let them leave."

Sebastian and Alec were so close to graduating from high school, but for now, they had their senior prom to face. Jocelyn was having some problems letting go of her sons. Both Alec and Sebastian looked equally embarrassed as they were being smothered by their mother. Alec had some problems with the idea of moving out and starting college, but if he was being very honest, it helped to have his brother with him. The two boys had decided to get an apartment together, closer to college.

"Mom, if you don't let us go, Bat will think I stood him up", grumbled Alec embarrassed.

"And Sebastian, you're going with _Rebecca_?", asked Jocelyn interested.

"...Why is she saying her name like that?", asked Sebastian confused. "Father, explain."

"It's just", started Luke amused. "You have been best friends with Rebecca since diapers and now the two of you are going to senior prom together and I know that you picked the same college."

"Alexander, explain our parents to me", grunted Sebastian with a deep frown, turning to his brother.

"They think you finally figured out that Rebecca is The One and asked her to prom as your really very _romantic date_ ", drawled Alec with a pointed look. "Seriously, Seb?"

"Oh", grunted Sebastian, his frown deepening. "Rebecca? As a... date-date?"

Alec took a step back and turned to look at their sisters a little disturbed. Both Clary and Isabelle were staring wide-eyed, exchanging a pointed look at that, before both huffed.

"You have _seriously_ never considered Rebecca as a dating option?", asked Isabelle. " _How_?"

Sebastian shrugged, his frown still on his face. "She is my best friend. She never... crossed my mind as a girl. Not in that way, at least. She's just... my best friend. But... Oh. _Oh_."

"What does that mean?", asked Clary disturbed.

"Well, that means that this might explain why she blushed so much when I asked her if we should go to the prom together. I thought she was coming down with a fever", offered Sebastian.

"Oh my god, and I thought Alec was useless!", exclaimed Isabelle, throwing her hands in the hair.

" _Hey_ ", growled Alec with a glare. "I have been in a happy relationship for four years and counting."

"After he kissed you because I'm still not convinced you even figured out you were gay until Bat kissed you", huffed Isabelle with a dismissive hand-gesture.

Alec scowled at her. "Anyway. Seb, let's go. Our dates are waiting."

With that, the brothers headed out, to first pick up Rebecca from the Lewis-household and then Bat. They weren't going to pick up Lydia, because her date Henry was going to do that. She had been ridiculously happy when Henry had asked her out to prom.

"You look gorgeous, Bat", grinned Alec as he cupped his boyfriend's cheek.

"You're looking insanely handsome too", hummed Bat as he leaned in to kiss Alec.

Rebecca kept side-eyeing Sebastian, until he caught on and cleared his throat. "You, ah, look lovely too, Becca. The dress looks... pretty. I mean, it was pretty when you bought it, but on you... it..."

"This hurts to watch", whispered Bat into Alec's ear. "Has Sebastian _finally_ realized that Rebecca has a total crush on him, or... what exactly _is_ this...?"

"And here I had gotten advise from _him_ back in the day", muttered Alec and shook his head. "He was far more... eloquent when it was just about random girls and the theory behind it all."

"Mh, if you say it like that, it's kinda cute", shrugged Bat with a grin.

An hour later, as Bat and Alec danced side by side with Sebastian and Rebecca, Alec had to agree.

/break\

Mason frowned and emptied his drink. Being surrounded by happy couples was super frustrating at times. Not to mention, the lesbians were super pushy, trying to help him. Rose and Lissa were the PDA kind of couple, while Maia and Clary were the cutesy, fluffy couple. Both kinds totally drove Mason insane, especially when Christian was even just _close by_.

"Why—y is he getting wasted while pouting?", asked Isabelle confused, motioning at Mason.

She was panting softly as she collapsed on a chair between Rose and Maia. Both of her female best friends were very busy making out with their respective girlfriends. It was their senior prom – or, well, the senior prom of Simon, Jace, Christian, Natalie, Mason, Rose and Maia. Isabelle smiled as she turned toward her soon to be graduated boyfriend. Simon was dancing with Natalie, who had no date herself but seemed like she was having a lot of fun regardless. She had come along as Jace's platonic date, because Jace had no relationship right now either.

"He wants to dance with Christian. Who didn't come" offered Rose as she broke for air with Lissa.

Isabelle frowned and heaved a sigh. "You know he's not a social guy. This party is hell for him."

"I kno—ow", grumbled Mason frustrated. "But... But I wanted to dance with him and be happy and... look at Bat, who gets to dance with his boyfriend! Look at them being disgustingly happy."

Glowering, Mason motioned over at Alec and Bat. Bat with his _college boyfriend_. Five years anniversary. Mason knew both of them were loyal by character, but he had not expected them to still be dating five years after getting together with their respective first partner.

"Yo. Ashford. Dance with me", ordered Jace as he approached them.

"Re—eally?", drawled Mason and blinked sluggishly up at Jace.

Jace smirked wickedly and nodded. "Come on. Don't just sulk. I know I'm not the twin you wanna dance with, but you can imagine I'm a brunette for one dance, right?"

Mason's cheeks matched his hair as he stared wide-eyed and slightly panicked at Jace. Even Maia and Clary had managed to tear themselves apart from each other to stare at Jace for a long moment.

"Really?", asked Clary. "That's how you tell Mason that you know about his crush on your twin?"

Jace shrugged and tilted his head. "Eh. Don't act like it's not super obvious. Everybody knows."

"E—Everybody? _Everybody_?", asked Mason, short of a stroke. "E-ve-ry-bo-dy?"

Jace just blinked slowly and nodded. "Dance with me, Ashford. Or I'll tell Chris you were a pathetic sad sack. Which I totally will."

Glowering, Mason got up and accompanied Jace to the dance-floor, with the others laughing.

/break\

Jace was smiling as he collapsed on Christian's bed, right next to his brother, who was glaring with his arms crossed. Of course had Jace sent a picture of himself with his arms wrapped around Mason as the two of them were dancing with each other. After all, if Christian refused to go to their senior prom, then Jace was damn well rubbing it under his nose what he had missed.

"Stop pouting", huffed Jace and spread his arms wide.

"What about you?", asked Christian with a glare. "Danced with _Bat and Alec_?"

Now it was Jace's turn to glare. "You know exactly I have no _right_... You could. Mason is single and he is still into you and you're into him. All you have to do is talk to him."

The glare on Christian's face darkened, while Jace heaved a deep sigh. Everybody knew that Mason was head over heels in love with Christian. The only thing stopping Christian was that he was absolutely _mortified_. He wasn't good with social stuff and being a boyfriend? That was... different than just being a friend and he was also really bad at _that_ already.

Jace's situation? Jace's situation was different. He had been crushing on Bat when he was a kid. Then Bat had asked Jace out for a date. And Jace had panicked. Because he had... His father, he had raised Jace. Raised him with a hard hand and teaching him that homosexuality was a sin. That men shouldn't desire other men. His heart had beaten so fast and he had remembered every single time his father had beaten him up in that moment and he shot Bat down hard.

That had been five years ago now. Since then, Jace had seen Alec and Bat kiss and hold hands and go out and be _beautiful_ together. How Luke and Jocelyn embraced Alec's homosexuality and welcomed Bat as his boyfriend. Then Rose and Lissa got together, like soulmates who immediately just knew they belonged together. And when then even Maia and Clary got together and Jace was basically surrounded by happy, healthy and _accepted_ gays...

Over the past five years, Jace came around. He managed to settle with the fact that maybe, being gay wasn't a problem. His gay friends were just as happy as Simon and Isabelle, or Lydia and Henry, Sebastian and Rebecca. They were happy and sweet and... _normal_. Because it was _normal_.

But it took him too long. Bat had moved on, had fallen for Alec and now they were this ridiculously long-lasting, perfect romance. And Jace couldn't blame Bat; Alec was _amazing_. They both were. They deserved each other. Jace and his complicated, confused feelings weren't what they deserved.

"...He looked really handsome", mumbled Christian with a frown, looking at the picture.

"Oh yeah, he did. And he can dance", drawled Jace with a smirk, arms crossed behind his head. "You know, he's single, I'm single... maybe I should ask him o—wow."

He froze at the death-glare Christian sent him. Honestly, it was a miracle that Jace didn't catch fire right then and there. Blinking slowly, Jace turned onto his side and wrapped his arms around his twin-brother, pulling him into a tight hug. Christian relaxed a little as he buried his face in his brother's chest, clinging onto Jace and taking shaky, slow breaths.

"I just... I can't", whispered Christian, shaking his head. "I can't. He's going to be even more affectionate and want to... to do stuff with me and I don't know _how_. I can't do this."

"Chris", sighed Jace, burying his nose in Christian's hair. "You... love him. And he's been so patient so long. He wouldn't push you even when you got together."

"You... You really think so?", whispered Christian unsure.

"Look, we're going to college. It's a new... part of our lives starting. Maybe... it's time?"

/break\

Jace ruffled his hair as he collapsed onto the couch that he, Alaric and Luke had just carried into the apartment. Jace and Christian were going to move in together with the Garroway-girls and their add-ons. Christian and Clary both had been accepted into art school, while Jace and Simon were going to study music (well, Simon had to minor in accounting to make his mom happy). Maia was studying marine biology and Isabelle was studying to become a doctor.

"Thank you for helping, dad, uncle Ric", smiled Clary charmingly, kissing their cheeks.

Luke and Alaric grunted as they sat down on either side of Jace. They had been working all morning and noon carrying and building furniture. It was exhausting, but fun. And Jace was really grateful for the help, after all he and Chris only had their grandma and Imogen was definitely not going to carry any couches up the stairs. She had made sandwiches though.

"You've been working too hard, boys", sighed Imogen as she placed a plate in front of them.

"Thanks, grandma", grinned Christian and reached out for the sandwiches.

"Why—y don't you go and help Simon and Mason with the table in our room?", asked Jace.

Christian wanted to complain when Jace took his sandwich away. Now that they were going to attend college, Jace was being extra pushy about this. And perhaps, Jace was right with that. Glowering a little, Christian got up and walked over to their bedroom. A three bedroom apartment and now he was back to sharing a bunk-bed with his twin. They hadn't done that in five years. Christian found himself oddly not minding that. And between the six of them, they would also be able to _afford_ the apartment. Christian bit his lips as he entered the bedroom. Mason's sleeves were rolled up, sweat making him glister, eyes concentrated, arms bulging as he held up the table-top while Simon worked on it. The ginger had _no_ right to look this hot. He was making this whole thing way more complicated for Christian than necessary. Selfish bastard.

"Lewis, go and help Rose and Lissa in Clary's room? And by that, I mean make them stop making out and actually work instead so we get this done today. I want for everyone to be able to sleep in a _bed_ tonight and not on the floor, at least. Also Dot and Jocelyn went to get pizza for everyone, so as soon as they get back, then no one will work anyway", grunted Christian with a glare.

Simon knew better than to argue with either Herondale-twin, so he just got up and essentially fled. Mason frowned curiously as he looked up at Christian expectantly. The brunette looked _so cute_ today. His hair was all messy from running his fingers through it because he had been going from one task to the next for hours. It also irritated him to work with so many people all day long; Mason knew Christian wasn't overly fond of that. Slowly, Christian approached Mason.

"So, you nervous about starting art-school?", asked Mason slowly.

"Go on a date with me", blurted Christian out, looking insanely tense.

"...What...?"; grunted Mason very slowly, nearly letting go of the table-top.

Gritting his teeth, his jaw doing that pretty thing that only the Herondale-twins could do, Christian looked at Mason with a defiant glare. "A date. You. Jace thinks I should... He says I will regret it when you... meet a nice guy and start dating him and I never... So I'm... Go on a date with me."

"Out of all the different ways I pictured this, _this_ is not it", whispered Mason surprised. "Yes? Yes."

Christian nodded slowly, a bit unsure. "I can just... I..."

"Chris", whispered Mason gently, cupping Christian's cheek. "I _know_. I know you. I know you act caged when you're under pressure. And I won't. I'll give you all the time and space you need, Chris. I swear. We'll take this at your pace. All I want is... is to make you happy, Christian. I don't want to change you, or make you uncomfortable. I just want to be happy _with you_."

Christian's eyes softened at that as he slowly leaned in, until their lips met briefly. It was only a chaste touch of lips, but Mason tasted like cinnamon from the hot chocolate he had earlier that Dot had brought with her for them all. Christian smiled softly, licking his lips.

/break\

Garroway family barbecue happened every first weekend of the month, because Jocelyn was suffering really hard from empty nest syndrome ever since Isabelle and Clary also moved out. Alec appreciated those barbecues, because while he was living together with Sebastian, he didn't get to see his sisters too often. And considering that fifty percent of the Garroway-children were dating a hundred percent of the Lewis-children, the Lewises had kind of integrated into those barbecues too.

"So, the salads are all set, Jocelyn", declared Elaine with a smile, putting the last bowl down.

"This looks like we can feed an army", pointed Dot out with a frown. "Who else is coming?"

Alec grinned as he carried out the meat. "Sebastian, Rebecca, Simon, Isabelle... That's actually it. Bat and Maia are on a road-trip together. Without us."

"Oh, don't act like you can't stand being a weekend without Bat", huffed Clary and rolled her eyes at him, hip-checking him. "You're so awful, I'm half surprised you two aren't married yet."

"Who's getting married?", asked Jocelyn wide-eyed as she joined them in the garden.

"No one, mother!", exclaimed Alec frustrated.

"Ah. We're planning the Balec wedding again", nodded Jocelyn, eyes twinkling.

"Stop calling it that", groaned Alec, hiding his face in his hands.

"Sweetie. There is no getting around that", chuckled Dot, patting Alec's shoulder. "There hasn't been a wedding since me and Alaric. Jocelyn has been planning your wedding, Clary's wedding, Isabelle's wedding and Sebastian's wedding. Granted, the respective partners changed over the years, but the folders are still pretty much the same."

"...Do I want to know who I was getting married to in that?", asked Alec doubtfully.

"Lydia", offered Alaric with a shrug as he came to steal his wife. "Honestly, we all had our money on you and Lydia. You two were absolutely inseparable as kids."

"And then it was Jace", added Dot with a smile before kissing Alaric's cheek.

"Wha... W... What... J... Ja... Jace?", sputtered Alec, cheeks dark-red.

"Kiddo. You and Jace were _also_ inseparable", pointed Luke out, resting a heavy hand on Alec's shoulder. "But this time, it was different. You had hearts in your eyes when looking at Jace."

Alec swallowed hard and nodded at that. He had never expected his family to catch on with his feelings for Jace. He glowered a little and picked a seat to sit down. Uncle Alaric smirked at him knowingly. Sighing, Alec crossed his arms on the table and buried his face in them.

"You people depressed Alexander again. What did you do?", asked Sebastian amused.

He was holding hands with Rebecca who smiled a little. Ever since prom, the two had slowly developed a steady relationship and Sebastian had actually learned to act like a real boy, much to Alec's surprise. He _loved_ poking fun at his brother for it. It was rather adorable though, seeing Sebastian struggle with how to be a boyfriend.

"Talk about the wedding Jocelyn is planning", supplied Dot. "Thanks for helping out last week, Rebecca. You were an absolute blessing."

Rebecca had started working at the antique store Dot and Jocelyn owned. Thanks to Clary and Christian spreading the word in their art-school, business had really picked up so they could afford the additional help and Rebecca could use the additional cash.

"Anytime you need me", grinned Rebecca.

"I just wish Simon would take things more serious too...", sighed Elaine with a worried frown. "I know, I know, he is taking his music very seriously, but... What are the chances he will truly take off with that? He needs a safe plan. I don't want him to play in the streets, sleeping under a bridge."

"Elaine", sighed Isabelle, taking the woman's hand. "That's why I'm becoming a doctor. I will make all the money to support my musician of a husband."

"Aw, babe, I love you", cooed Simon, eyes twinkling as he kissed Isabelle's cheek.

"You know, you two are joking, but that is literally going to be your future, right?", drawled Sebastian, motioning at them. "Iz is going to be the successful power-house and you will still play at bars and bar mitzvahs, Lewis. Which suits me just fine, because then my girlfriend will also be the successful Lewis, while my sister is the successful part of your relationship."

"Essentially, what Seb is trying to say, Si", interrupted Rebecca sweetly. "Is that we both love seeing you fail, little brother. And you do is to consistently."

"Enough now!", interrupted Elaine irritated. "Luke, turn this meat into actual food. No more jibes at Simon for being a hopeless optimist. Start setting the table, children."

"Yes, mom", chorused Rebecca and Simon, going back inside to get the missing plates.

Alec smiled softly as he looked at his three siblings and the rest of his family. He missed Bat and if he was really very honest, he liked the idea of him and Bat hosting those for their family one day.

/break\

Mason was smiling softly, nose buried in Christian's hair. The two of them had spent the evening marathoning movies with Maia, Clary, Simon and Isabelle, before the other two couples had retreated to their rooms and Mason had gone with Christian to his own room. Thankfully enough, Jace had gone out clubbing, which meant Mason and Christian actually had some alone-time.

"Jace still isn't home", grunted Christian with a frown, looking at his alarm.

"Mh?", muttered Mason, also checking. "Well, he went out. And Simon says it's not rare for him to stay out all night. He's... uhm... promiscuous?"

"You can say 'a slut'. He and I both know that", grunted Christian and rolled his eyes. "But he _always_ texts me if he decides to stay out and sleep somewhere else. He also always texts me the address so I know where he is, just in case something happens. He likes random hook ups, but he's not a total idiot. He knows better than to just go home with strangers and not make sure someone knows where he is and with whom he is. And that someone am I. If he'd stay the night, he would have texted me by now."

"Okay", nodded Mason and slowly sat up to grab his own phone. "Listen, Alec and Bat wanted to go out for drinks. I'll text them, if they're still out, that they'll go and check...? Where did he go?"

"Pandemonium", replied Christian with a frown. "Yeah, he sent me a picture of himself with whoever that chick is he's making out with. I'll... send it to Alec."

"Yep. They're still out", grunted Mason. "Alec says they're already on their way. You wanna get changed and go out too, Chris?"

Christian blinked surprised. "It's already one in the morning and you have work tomorrow..."

"And he's your twin-brother and the most important person in your life", countered Mason, both eyebrows raised. "I love you. I'm here for you. That includes hunting down your brother at night."

"I...", started Christian, still staring at Mason in awe. "Love you too. And I trust Alec and Bat. If there's anyone who I'd trust with my brother, it's them."

Now it was Mason's turn to stare at Christian in stunned silence. This was the first time Christian had said the l-word since they had gotten together a year ago. But apparently Mason being willing to sacrifice his sleep for Christian's brother was the last push Christian needed to see just how committed Mason was? Well, it figured considering Christian's past. Even after nine years, Christian had not been able to shake the abuse he had suffered, the trust-issues.

"I'm sure Jace is fine", whispered Mason gently, pressing a kiss to the top of Christian's head.

"Ye—eah... I'm... I'm sure", nodded Christian, not sounding sure at all.

/break\

Jace's head was sluggish and fuzzy. His limbs felt heavier than usual. In the back of his head, he knew he should be doing something. There was some place to be. Someone he should... His brother. Christian. He should call Christian. Christian would pick him up. Christian would...

Frowning, Jace tried to sit up, just to collapse back down onto... wherever he was laying.

"Hey. Sh, don't move, Jace", whispered a soothing, warm voice gently.

"Mh...? Is all dark, who's there...?", asked Jace, voice in a drawl.

"...Your eyes are closed, angelito", whispered the same soothing voice. "You gotta open them, show us those pretty, dual colored eyes of yours, mh? Come on."

Slowly, Jace opened his eyes to see Bat leaning right into him. "Ba—atman..."

"There you are, gorgeous", smiled Bat, gently cupping Jace's cheek. "How you feeling?"

"Sleepy...", mumbled Jace, nuzzling into Bat's hand and closing his eyes. "Is all... dizzy?"

"Alec!", called Bat out, sounding concerned. "What do we do?"

"We take him home. Let him sleep it off", sighed Alec as he stepped up next to Bat.

"Ale—ec", hummed Jace happily, reaching out to pat Alec's face. "Lookit how han'some..."

"J... Jace...", stammered Alec wide-eyed, cheeks red. "Come on. I'll bring you home."

Clearing his throat, Alec leaned down and pushed one arm beneath Jace's knees, the other behind Jace's back and then he picked the blonde up from the couch he was sitting on. Jace yelped.

"Whoo—op! Look, Batsie, I'm _flying_!", exclaimed Jace, voice slurred.

"Jace", chuckled Bat fondly, brushing Jace's hair out of his face once Alec had him properly in his arms. "Bonito, Alec and I will bring you home with us, okay?"

Jace just hummed and snuggled into Alec's chest. The archer heaved a sigh, adjusting Jace a little. The blonde looked _so content._ Even though half an hour ago, Alec and Bat nearly had a heart-attack when Mason had texted them that Jace hadn't gotten home and Christian was worried. Christian being worried was such a red flag. Alec and Bat had _immediately_ abandoned their game of billiard and run off to the last location Jace had been at. The owner had brought Jace to his office, because someone had attempted to roofie the girl sitting next to Jace, but the bartender had mixed their drinks up. Had Alec and Bat been only a little later, the club-owner would have called an ambulance. For now, he had still been in the middle of figuring out what had happened.

"He—ey, Chris", called Bat out, phone pressed against his ear. "You want us to bring him home? Our place is closer, Alec and I thought we could—Yeah? Okay. I promise I'll call you in the morning, yeah? He's... He's going to be fine, promise. Night."

Ten minutes later and they were at their apartment. Sebastian had moved out months ago, leaving for a semester abroad in London with Rebecca. And considering the ring Alec had in his nightstand, living together was a good step for Alec and Bat. But placing Jace on top of their bed...? Alec bit his lips, brushing Jace's hair out of his face. He looked _so right_ in their bed. Bat yawned and stretched before he started to remove Jace's shoes and pants.

"He—ey", giggled Jace, arching his body. "No—o. You can't do that, Bat! You have _Alec_!"

"Jace-", laughed Bat softly. "Come on, I gotta get you out of your clothes."

"No, Bat, no—o", exclaimed Jace with an upset frown. "No, you have Alec! You love Alec! You don't want me anymore! We can't do this! Alec is nice and sweet and handsome and kind and caring and gentle and amazing and loves you and you're happy! I can't ruin this!"

"No, corazón", assured Bat a little amused. "We're not going to have sex. I just want you to sleep comfortably so I am taking off your pants and shoes, okay?"

"Because you have Alec", nodded Jace seriously, jabbing Bat in the chest. "You will not screw this up. Alec is _amazing_ and lovable and you can't break his heart! I'm not gonna ruin this."

"Angelito, I am not going to cheat on Alec with you", sighed Bat, folding the jeans.

"Course not", mumbled Jace, not looking upset as he curled together. "Because I missed my shot and now you don't like me anymore because you found Alec, who's way better and wasn't super complicatedly scared of his own feelings and now it's all too late..."

Frowning confused, Bat looked up at Alec, who was just staring down at Jace. Shaking his head, Alec grabbed the blanket and tucked Jace in properly, causing Jace to snuggle closer.

"We gotta let him sleep it off for now", whispered Alec. "...And then talk to him in the morning, because this sounded pretty much like he _did_ return your feelings... and might still do so."

"Babe, you heard him list off all the things that are amazing about you?", asked Bat, eyebrows raised. "I think someone in this bed is having a crush on you and it's not just me for a change."

Grinning, Bat leaned in to kiss Alec's cheek, while the archer frowned doubtfully.

/break\

Jace's head felt like his brain threw up all over the place and his mouth _tasted_ like he had thrown up. Every limb felt like lead. Frowning annoyed, Jace buried his face in the pillow. He noted how nice it smelt. Like Balec. Jace loved that smell, it was a very specific smell, the combination of Bat and Alec. Like when Bat had been wearing Alec's sweater for too long and it started mixing their scents. Smiling contently, Jace grabbed the pillow and snuggled it properly.

"Hey", whispered Bat lowly. "Are you awake? How are you feeling?"

"Like my head isn't mine", grumbled Jace. "Everything hurts. What _happened_...?"

"Here. I bring aspirin and water", whispered Bat. "And what happened is that you got roofied last night and fell asleep on the couch at the owner's office. Alec and I picked you up."

Grumbling, Jace sat up and accepted the drugs and water. "Thanks, guys. Did..."

"I called Christian last night", assured Bat and sat down next to Jace.

"Okay. Good", nodded Jace relieved before he collapsed back onto the bed. "Ye—eah. I'm gonna stay right here until I can feel all my limbs again. If not, you're gonna have to carry... oh. Alec... Alec _did_ carry me last night... right? That wasn't in my head."

"No. That happened, Jace", chuckled Alec as he came in. "I made you a light breakfast."

"Urgh, you're _the best_ , Alec", groaned Jace happily, carefully sitting up some.

"Sure sounded that way last night", grinned Bat teasingly.

"Mh...?", grunted Jace confused as he started eating, before staring wide-eyed and mortified. "Oh god. No. I... the things I said last night, that was totally the drugs and alcohol talking."

"Sure. So you don't have any feelings left for Bat?", asked Alec seriously.

"And you don't think that Alec is sweet and handsome and kind and about half a million other cute adjectives to describe my boyfriend?", tagged Bat on with a grin.

Gritting his teeth, Jace sat up and got ready to leave, only to have Alec and Bat hold him down from either side, both giving him pointed looks. Jace squirmed between them, dodging their looks.

"Jace?", asked Alec firmly, giving Jace's knee a squeeze. "You said something that's been worrying me. About how _I_ am not as super complicatedly scared about my feelings and you missed your shot? Jace, were you... in love with Bat, before Bat and I got together?"

Jace tilted his head and shrugged, staring at his hands. "I... Yeah. I guess."

"Then... why did you shoot me down when I asked you out?", asked Bat confused.

"Because my father used to tell me everything that's wrong with this world. Rant about it when the news were on. And between that and the beatings, I... I was taught being gay is wrong. And when you asked me out, I panicked, because I remembered every time my father beat into me how _wrong_ that is and...", started Jace, running a shaky hand through his hair. "A... After you two got together... it took me... years to really... to... to... to settle. To realize that... uhm... being gay is not a... it's not a sin and it doesn't... need to be... be punished. Not that it matters." Jace paused and shook his head. "You two are together, have been together for years. You're happy. It doesn't matter what I feel."

"Feel", echoed Bat softly, leaning forward and carefully tucking Jace's hair behind his ear. "You said feel. Not felt. Feel. So... what you are... feeling, it does matter."

"It matters to us", agreed Alec, voice low as he rested a hand on Jace's upper arm. "Jace, that you... You should have come to us about this. We would have tried to... to help you out. We thought it was something... personal, when you were avoiding us after we got together."

"No. It was just... my... internalized homophobia", muttered Jace. "And... struggling with being... pan. But now... I'm okay with who I am and what I feel. And you two are happy. It doesn't matter what I am feeling for the two of you because... you are _happy_."

"Yeah, you keep saying that", nodded Bat slowly. "Only that... I never really stopping liking you. If anything, I started liking you _more_ over the years. And so did Alec. So... if you actually still like us, we like you too. Would you like to... date us?"

"...What?", asked Jace with a blank look.

"We like you, a lot", whispered Alec, slowly leaning in. "We want to go out with you, if... you also want _us_. It's... okay what you were feeling. Well, it was clearly not, but you were raised by a sociopathic murderer, so it was obvious you'd... suffer from the aftermaths. But you overcame this and... We want to be here for you. We love you. Let us be there for you, please."

"Really? Why?", asked Jace confused, frowning at them. "It's been years. You're happy."

"Seriously, stop saying that", laughed Bat and shook his head before he leaned in to kiss Jace's cheek. "You're so cute. Yeah, we're happy. But we could be even happier with _you_."

Frowning, still looking confused, Jace tilted his head to kiss Bat properly. Bat was left dazed, smiling in a dopey way, while Jace turned into the other direction to also kiss Alec, who looked immensely happy at that. He ducked his head, cheeks red.

"We... could... try it... if... you're sure", nodded Jace, slowly licking his lips.

"Yeah, we are", agreed both Bat and Alec at once, leaning in to kiss his cheeks.

Both smiled at him happily, before laying their arms around Jace from either side and gently forcing him down. The blonde frowned from one to the other, sandwiched between the two of them.

"We want you to rest some more", stated Alec. "And I called your brother and told him you'd be staying here today. So... how about a nap? All three of us?"

"Mh... this _is_ comfy...", sighed Jace contently and snuggled up to them.

"Yeah, it is", agreed Bat, kissing the back of Jace's neck.

/break\

Imogen smiled gently as she looked at her grandsons. She had come over to visit them, something she did regularly. To hear about their lives, check out the newest art from Christian, listen to Jace's newest songs and enjoy whatever those two would cook for her.

"So, Jace... do I _want_ to know whose oversized hoodie you're wearing there?", asked Imogen slowly and deliberately raised one eyebrow, looking at the garment.

Jace stared wide-eyed, looking down himself to notice that he was wearing one of Alec's hoodies. His cheeks heated up as he realized. He should have realized sooner, considering he had to really push up the sleeves whenever he stole Alec's clothes. Bat's fit him way better.

"You're not gonna buy a clothes-mix up with one of the roommates, right?", asked Jace.

"Considering Christian is the same size as you, three out of your other roommates are _girls_ and this hoodie lacks the usual colorful pop-culture reference so it can't be Simon's...", stated Imogen.

"Damn, grandma, you could teach Luke and Alaric a lesson in detective work", grinned Christian.

Imogen laughed at that as she set the table for the three of them. "Well, theoretically speaking, it could be Mason's, considering... he has been spending an awful lot of time here lately. Clary and Isabelle have been complaining about that whenever coming home."

"Yeah. Maze and I... we were... thinking about... maybe getting our own place", admitted Christian.

"Really?", asked Imogen surprised.

"It's been... going good... we've been dating for a year now and... he's... he's really sweet", whispered Christian, cheeks red. "He's... everything I never really was sure I'd get."

"I'm... happy for you, Christian", smiled Imogen, hugging the brunette. "Now stop trying to distract me from Jace. Oh please, don't think I don't know the two of you."

Jace ducked his head and scratched his cheek. "Well, I... I might have... I've started dating Alec... and Bat. It's still really new and I didn't want to tell you yet and just... I wasn't sure what you'd..."

Letting go of Christian, Imogen now pulled Jace into a hug, smoothing down the boy's hair. "Jace, sweetie, I love you, no matter what. Whoever you date. You don't need to be afraid to tell me anything, okay? I lost you two once. No decision you make could make me _willingly_ lose you again. And Alec and Bat are good boys. Men. Oh, you're all grown up already..."

"So... you don't have a problem with me having... two boyfriends?", asked Jace doubtfully.

"Of course not. You're my grandson", huffed Imogen, patting his cheek.

/break\

Christian smiled as he was seated between Lissa and Mason. Two of his four favorite people. He looked around the apartment slowly. Christian and Jace had moved out after all and while he had planned on moving in with Mason, he... couldn't abandon his brother after all. He and Jace, they belonged _together_. Thankfully, their boyfriends agreed on that. And now that Alec had actually graduated and started working, having a steady income as a police officer, they had been thinking of moving out of their small first apartment. So the five of them got themselves a larger place.

As soon as the twins were out of the apartment, Clary and Simon turned the empty bedroom into a music slash art studio. Christian had _really_ felt the love there, though he knew how they meant it.

The new apartment was great. Christian loved it. He loved waking up every morning in Mason's arms, eating breakfast with Jace and their boyfriends. He loved the way his life was going.

Like right now, having a nice, cozy movie-night with Rose and Lissa. A double-date, while Bat and Alec had taken Jace out on some fancy date, dinner and movie and all. No. Christian was still not a fan of those kind of things. In here, on their couch, was far more his speed. Not to mention, Rose and Lissa counted as other people, so this was like fancy, right?

"So, your brother seriously flunked out of school?", asked Rose casually.

"Rosemarie!", hissed Mason, throwing popcorn at her.

"What? He's always been talking about being a big-shot musician", shrugged Rose.

"Dreams change", countered Christian calmly. "He actually liked working at the coffee shop beside classes and he... saw an opportunity and took it, when Java Jones went for sale. Grandma agreed to be a silent partner – she didn't _buy_ it for him, he insisted that if she wanted to help, she'd be a partner in the business. Music is... fun. Used to be fun. But turns out that school... made music less fun and Jace doesn't want to lose that. Not to mention the part where, realistically speaking, this is not a profession you are very likely to make money in."

"And your art is?", asked Rose with a deadpan.

"Seriously?", hissed Lissa this time, elbowing her girlfriend with a glare.

"What? It's a legit question", shrugged Rose. "He knows I don't mean it in a bad way."

Christian rolled his eyes at that and sighed. "I mean, I don't expect to become an artist who is going to hang in museums or something. Clary, Natalie and I are working on a graphic novel. Clary does the sketches and outlines, I do the colo and Natalie writes the stories and does the texting. We have been working on it for... years. It was just... ideas, at first. But now... We actually worked out the kinks and we nearly finished issue one. We're going to publish it and, who knows."

"Wait. That vampire thing?", asked Lissa surprised. "Natalie has been talking about that for so long. I always thought that was just... a brain baby. You actually did it?"

Christian shrugged with a modest blush. It made Mason smile softly and pull him close to actually kiss him. It was so cute seeing Christian talk about his passion. Sighing, Christian snuggled up against his boyfriend, tilting his head to look up at the ginger.

"Yeah. Izzy said that we might get like... sued for being too similar to _Avatar_ with the whole elemental control and the Chosen One who could bend them all, so we... decided on a different protagonist instead of the princess", replied Christian slowly. "It's now a gay vampire story. Where a fledgling vampire nerd who is all up in vampire lore totally falls in love with an actual angel and drinking his blood turns the vampire into a Daylighter. A vampire who can walk in the sunlight. From there on out, it's a fight of good against evil, because a wicked scientist had held the angel boy captive all of his life and experimented on him."

"Don't spoil it, dude!", complained Rose. "I wanna read it, you know?"

Christian offered a small, pleased smile at that. He liked the direction their lives were taking.

/break\

"Welcome to Java Jace. What can I get you, officer?", asked Jace with a grin.

"...Do you have to do that _every_ time Alec comes in?", sighed Clary and rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and keep drawing your comic with my brother", ordered Jace with a glare.

"Graphic novel!", corrected Christian, Clary and Natalie irritated.

The three sat at a booth close to the counter. It was kind of _their_ booth. They preferred working on their graphic novel there. Coffee and doughnuts on the house. Well, sometimes, when Jace was in a good mood. Bat, who had been sitting with the three like a zombie, slowly got up to walk over to his two boyfriends. He had started working as a DJ at Pandemonium and he was still adjusting to the schedule of working half the night. As soon as he came to stand behind Alec, he just collapsed forward and wrapped his arms around Alec like a greedy octopus.

"I'd take two boyfriends to go?", asked Alec with a small smile, adjusting Bat to hug him with one arm and to kiss his cheek gently. "Your shift should be over, right? And if not, you're the _boss_."

"You know what. You're right", agreed Jace, grinning as he untied his apron. "Lewis! You're up."

Simon groaned where he had been sitting in a corner with Isabelle, mainly making out and occasionally eating cake. The further Isabelle's college education went, the less time she had for her boyfriend. That was the life of a medical professional, or soon to be medical professional. Simon, he was still trying to make music happen as an actual job, but since that wasn't going as planned, he had started picking up some shifts at Java Jace's. Which was nice, because that way, Jace got some free time to spend time with his boyfriends too.

"See you at home, Chris. Don't work too long, you'll only get a neck-cramp", teased Jace.

"Don't fuck too hard, you'll not be able to sit for days", called Christian back dryly.

Jace flipped his twin off as he left the coffee shop with his boyfriends on either side of him. Over the past few years, Jace's life had taken one good turn after the other and it had started out with dating Bat and Alec. They were so supportive of him. When he had first voiced to them that he was doubtful about school, wanted to quit because it just wasn't _fun_ anymore, they told him that Imogen had enough money not to mind if he dropped an education that he didn't enjoy. Which turned out to be true. And even when Jace had been busy for _months_ , figuring out having his own shop, they remained patient and supportive and sweet and _amazing_. Jace loved them both so much.

"So, where are we going, what are we doing?", asked Bat with a wide yawn.

"It's... nine in the morning and the two of us have worked all night, while Jace has been up and in the bakery since four", pointed Alec out slowly. "So, what do you think we're going to do?"

"Na—apping", groaned Bat blissfully, throwing his head back. " _Yes_."

Jace snorted softly and kissed Bat's cheek. The trio barely made it out of their pants before collapsing on their bed once they reached their apartment. Jace sighed contently as he sprawled out on top of both his lovers, at least until Alec adjusted him into a more comfortable position. Now, Jace found himself spooned by Bat from behind, with them both using Alec as a pillow. Alec made for a mighty fine pillow, in Jace's humble opinion. A soft smile was on his lips as he fell asleep. To think, twenty years ago, when his father had died, he thought he had _nothing_ and would never have anything again. Now, he had his grandmother, his twin brother, his boyfriends, his friends, his store. Now, he had _everything_ he could have ever wanted. He had _happiness_.

_~*~ The End ~*~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOST BELOVED KIMMYCUP! I HOPE YOUR DAY IS AWESOME AND THAT THE FIC MADE IT JUST A TINY BIT MORE AWESOME! *hugs*
> 
> *clears throat* That aside, writing the Alec-Sebastian dynamic in this fic was so much fun. As was the Christian-Jace dynamic. *^* I hope you all had as much fun reading it. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy name day to my Kimmycup! ^o^ Because the birthday story turned... just way too long... and since your name day it only shortly before your birthday and that is a thing you celebrate in your country, I figured I will split it up into two and have presents for both days! x3
> 
> This one, pure cute kid fluff. That's why it turned into two because I can not resist writing a kid fic apparently... Next part, teenagers and adults and lots of pining ;D To be posted on August 10th! ;)


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